Prepayment-meter.



W. H. PRATT. PREPAYMENT METER.

APPLIUATION FILED APR. 10, 1905.

Patented Oct. 13,1908.

2 slums-sum 1.

Witnesses:

W. H. PRATT. PREPAYMEN T METER. APPLICATION FILED APB.10, 1905.

Patented Oct. 13, 1908.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

Inventor: Willi-arn Pratt,

"UNI ED ism-gas PETENT OFFICE.

WILLIAM H. PRATT, or LYNN, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR -'ro- GENERAL ELECTRIC COMPANYLA CORPORATION OF NEW YoRK.

rnEPAmnr-n'rnn.

To all whom it may concern: I

Beit known that I, WIL IAM H. PRATT, a

citizen of the United States, residing at l Lynn, county of Essex, State'of Massachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Im rovements in Prepayment-Meters, of

which the following is a specification.

' anism. The switch is moved into thecircuitclosing position by the insertion of one or more coins mto the prepayment device, and

is thereafter maintained in the closed position until the instant at which the'value of the electrictiv consumed reaches that of the position from that occupied by it when empty. The position'of the chute controls the operation of the switch, though the power for operating the switch is furnished by a spring which is wound up by means which may be inde endent of the meter and indeendent of t e insertion of thecoin or coins. he meter which measures the flow of electricity' in the consumption circuit removes the coins from the receptacle or chute from time to time as the electric value of the coin is consumed. The chute or receptacle is arranged to hold a number of coins at one time, and other coins maybe placed in the chute or receptacle from time'to time as coins previously inserted are removed by the meter so that the switch maglbe maintained in the olosed'position inde itely by the timely insertion of coins.

The various features of novelty which characterize my invention are pointed out with particularity in the claims annexed to and forming a part of this specification. For a better understanding of my invention reference may be had to the accompanyin drawings and descriptive'matter in which l have illustrated and described one of the forms in which bodied.

Of the-drawings, Figurel is a view part1 Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed April 10, 1905. Serial No. 2M,880. w

my invention may be em Patented Oct. 13, 1908.

in sectional elevation and partly in diagram illustrating the operation and arrangement of parts of the prepayment mechanism; Fig. 2 is a sectional elevation showing my prepayment device attached to an electric meter, only a portion of the meter proper being shown.

Referring to the drawings, 1 represents the main frame member of an electric motor meter of the. well known Thomson recording watt meter type which may be inclosed in a suitable casing 2. The armature shaft 3 of the meter has its upper end journaled in a jsuitablebearing 3 carried by the frame.

The armature 4 carried by the shaft 3 cooperates with the main field coils 5 and startingcoil 5' in the usual manner. On the up per side of the frame member 1 is secured a U-shaped yoke or frame 6 the legs of which extend vertically upward. Between the uper ends of the frame member 6 the com- .liined terminal and switch Contact 7 is secured by brackets'7 suitably insulated. A similar contact switch 8 is secured and insulated from one of the legs of the frame 6 by a bracket 9 some distance below the contact 7.

A pivoted switch member 10, the body of which may be formed of laminated copper, is carried by a shaft 11 having its ends journaled in the legs of the frame 6. The switch blade 10 has secured to it spring arms 12carrying carbon Contact devices 13.

An arm 14 has one end secured to the switch member 10 for which it serves as an operatingdevice. The outer end of the arm 14 carries a roller 15 which engages the edge of a cam wheel 16." The cam wheel 16 and gear wheel 17 to which it is rigidly connected nate teeth and depressions or notches 20.

When the wheel is in the 'osition in which the roller 15 engages the on of a tooth 19-the I switch 10 is held in thej closed osi'tionas shown in Fig. 1 in which its beve' ed end engages the contacts 7' and 8. In-this'position I the contacts 13 engage the contacts 7 and 8* and the springs 12 are under some tension.-- 'When the wheel is given a turn equal to half the are between the centers of adj acent-teeth the roller 15 drops in the adjacent notch 20 and the switch moyes into the open position. The weight of the arm 14 and the roller 15 may be relied upon to move the switch into open position, thou h any suitable spring or similar means may e employed in additlon to cause the switch to move into the open position at the proper time.

It will be readily understood by those skilled in the art that a separation occurs between the body of the switch member 10 and the contacts 7 and 8 before the carbon auxiliary contacts 13 move out of engagement with the contacts. As a result any arcing between the switch and the contacts takes place between the carbon blocks and the adjacent portions. of the contacts. Thls revents any injury of the main contact su ace between the body of the switch 10 and the contacts 7 and 8 being injured by sparking.

A spiral spring 21 has its outer end secured to a suitable stud 22 carried by the disk and its inner end secured to the shaft 18, one end of which is squared so that it may beengaged by a key which extends throu h the corresponding leg of the frame 6 and through the inclosing casing. By turning the shaft 18 the s ring 21 may be wound up. A ratchet wheel 23 carried by the shaft and cooperating pawl 24 carried by the frame 6 prevents backward rotation of the shaft 18.

The gear wheel 17 gears with a small gear 25 carried by a shaft 26 journaled in the frame 6 below the shaft 18. The gear 25 is connected to a wheel 27 which is provided with a pin or tooth 28 which projects from the wheel parallel to the shaft. An escapement pallet 29 or device is pivoted from a bracket 30 carried by the frame. The two arms 31 of the pallet 29 are provided with projections 32 at their ends which are adapted to engage wit-h the pin 28 in the manner hereinafter set forth. An operating arm 33 of the pallet extends down below the pivotal point ofsupport and is provided at its lower end with an off-set portion 34. An inclined cam surface 35 is formed in the angle between the arm 33 and the off-set 34. A s ring 35 normally tends to move the pallet rom the position shown in full lines in Fig. 1 to the position shown in dotted lines in which the upper side of the right hand projection is engaged by the pin 28.

The outer end of a divided coin chute 36 is supported in any suitable manner as by Socuring it to the meter casing 2, the meter casing -being formed with a slot which communicates with the coin chute. The coin chute comprises two parts hinged together at 38. The upper ortion 39 of the coin chute may be provide with any suitable coin-introducing device such as a rotatable coinearrier operated by a shaft 40 which extends through the casing. The lower ortio'n 41 of the coin chute, which is prefierably long enough to hold a number of coins, is provided with a hook or projection 42 which engages the ofi-set 34 and the lower portion of the cam surface 35 when there are coins in the seam? chute as shown in Fig. 1. A helical spring 43' having one end secured to a stationary support such as a casing proper, has its other end secured to the chute portion 41, and serves as a means for holding the chute in the position shown in dotted lines in Fig. 1, when no coins are in the chute. A member 44 is ivoted to the lower side of the lower end 0 the chute portion 41. In the position shown in Fig. 1 an arm 45 carried by the member 44 rojects into the chute section 41 through a s 0t formed in its lower edge'for the purpose and prevents the downward movement of the lowermost coin in the chute. l/Vhen the member 44 is oscillated in the direction shown by the arrow the arm 45 moves out of the slot and allows the escape of the lowermost coin from the chute section. At the same time another arm 46 carried by the member 44 enters the chute section and prevents the downward movement for the time being of any other coins which may be in the chute. A counter weight 47 normally holds the member 44 in position shown in Fig. 1. An extension 48 of the member 44 serves as a means by which the member 44 may be oscillated to allow the escape of the lower coin from the chute when the condition of service demands-it.

Near the lower end of the frame member 6 is located a gear wheel 49 mounted on a shaft 50 su ported by a bracket 50 carried by one of t 1e legs of the frame 6. The gear wheel 49 meshes with and is driven by a gear wheel 52 mounted on a shaft 53 driven by the counting train 51 of the meter, the counting train 51 being driven in the usual manner by the meter. From one side of the wheel 49 rojects a pin or stud 54. A weight 55 is oosely mounted on the end of the shaft 50. The rotation of the gear wheel 49 in the direction indicated by the arrow causes the pin to engage the weight 55 in the osition in which the weight hangs below the s aft 50 and carry it to the position in which it is directly over the shaft. The weight 55 then immediately moves under the influence of ravity to the position in which the wei ht is elow the center of gravity where it wi 1 remain stationary until the pin has made a half revolution after which the weight will again move with the wheel 52 during a half turn of the latter. The weight 55 carries a rojection 56-which engages the free end of t e projection 48 as the weight falls from its top position to its lower position. The momentum of the weight 55 when it strikes the arm 48 is sullicient to oscillate the member 44 and discharge the lower coin from the chute. If there is only one coin in the chute when the weight engages the arm 48 the chute section will when freed from the weight of the coin move upward under the action of the spring 43. If there are one or more coins in the chute, however, as soon as the lowermost coin-moves out of the chute the arm 44 under the action of its counter weight moves back into the position shown in full lines in Fig.1,

In Fig. 1, 60 represents oneof-- the current supply conductors. The other supply con- I .ductor 61 is connected toth'e' contact memher 7. A conductor 62 leads from the contact member S'to one terminal oi the field The other terminals of I coils 5 of the meter. the field coils 5-wh1ch are m series-is connected to the comluctor 63 which with the conductorfiOforms the supply mains for the consumption circuit,- and may supply current to any of the ordinary translating devices such as incandescent lamps 64. The armature circuit of the meter which may include a resistance 65 and starting coil 5, is connected to the lines 60 and 62 at points 67 and 68, respectively.

In the condition of the apparatus shown in i Fig. 1 the switch is held in the closed position by reason of the en agement of the roller 15 with the outer e( ge of one of the teeth 19 of the wheel .16. The meter has just 1.10"C(l the wheel 5 into the position in which the pin 54 has carried the weight 55 over its center of gravity. The weight is shown in the position in which engages the operating arm 48 of the member 44. As before stated, the momentum of the weight is suilicient to oscillate the member 44 and discharge the lowermost coin in the chute section 41. The coin thus discharged asses into the coin boi or receptacle (not sliown) through suitable conduit or chute 69-. As soon as the lowermost coin is discharged the member 44 swings back to the position shown in the drawings under the action of the weight 47. When the consumption of current has been such as'to cause a suifieient number of revolutions of the wheel 52 to discharge. all of the coins in the hinged coin of the pin with the upper sideof the right hand arm or the pallet. The gear wheels 17 and 25 are so proportioned that a half turn-of the gear wheel 25 corresponds to a mowement of the cam wheel 16 frolnthe position in which the roller engages a tooth 19 of the wheel 16 as shown in Fig. 1 to a positionin whichit drops into the adjacent. depression 20. As the roller drops into the depressions the switch 10 opens thus interrupting the flow-of current through the consumption cir- U on the subsequent insertion of a coin in t cuit.

chute its weight causes the chute to move into the position shown in Fig. '1.

The downward movement of the projection along the cam surface 35 throws the operating arm 33 of the pallet to the right against the action ofits controlling s ring and. causes the right hand arm of the pal et to release the pin 28, whereupon the wheel 27 will make another half turn before it is checked by the engagement of the pin .28 with the left hand arm of the pallet. The movement of the wheel 27 corresponds to a movement of the cam wheel 16 sufficient to bring the roller 1.5 again in contact with the periphery proper ofthe disk thus again closing the switch allow-.

ing current to flow through the consumption 1 circuit.

. The operation of the n'iechanism described is positive and reliable. The power for operating the switch is furnished by the spiral spring 21 which is manually put under ten.-

S1011. The power necessary to carry the weight 55 used to trip the member 44 and discharge (-OlIlS froi 11 the chute from its lower position to its upper position is not great, as

the weight is comparatively small. and the rate of elevation of the weight comparatively slow. As a result the extra work necessary to be performed by the meter on account of the prepayment attachment is such that a meter having the ordinary torque characteristic can be used without change in design. The mechanism is one which appeals to the consumer as it is practically automatic, the only thing for the consumer to do being to rotate the coin-carrier on inserting the coin, and as the method of operating the coin-carrier does not affect in any manner the operation of the device the instrument is protected from injury by reason of improper operation in inserting coins. The spiral spring 21 may be wound up by the collector who removes the coins deposited in the meter. The spring is so arranged that the shaft can be given a number of turns before the spring is wound up, and as one revolution of the cam Wheel 16 corresponds to the cancellation of value by the meter of a number of coins (in the mechanism shown), it will be readil understood that enough coins to exhaust t e tension of the sprin will not be inserted in the period between t e visits of the coin-collector.

Should there be a failure to wind the switch opening position. This is because the tension .of the spring necessary to move the roller 15 out of a depression in the wheel and thereby close the swltch is much greater than the tension of the spring necessary to move the wheel from the position in which the switch isclosed to the position in which it is open.

It will be obvious to those skilled in the art that changes may be made inthe form in which I have embodied my invention without departing from the s itrit thereof, and I do not wish the claims ereinafter made to be limited to the s ecific construction shown, more than is ma e necessary by the state of the art.

What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States, is,

1. In a prepayment device, a meter, a switch, operating means therefor including a movable coin chute arranged to be held in one position when empty and in another position when one or more coins are contained therein, mechanism normally preventing the escape of coins from the chute, and means controlled by the meter for releasing coin from the chute one at a time.

2. In a prepayment mechanism, a switch,

a pivoted coin chute arranged to be held in one position when empty and in another position when one or more coins are contained therein, and switch-operating means controlled by the position of said chute whereby when the chute is empty the switch is open and when it contains one or more coins the switch is closed.

8. In a prepayment device, a. meter, 0. switch, a movable coin chute arranged to be held in one position when empty and in another position when one or more coins are contained therein, means controlled by said meter for controllin the release of coins from said chute, and operating means for said switch controlled by the movement ofsaid chute.

4. 'In a prepayment device, a meter, a

switch, operating means therefor including a cape of coins from said chute and adapted by its movement to release one coin at a time, a

weight pivoted at a point remote from its (5011- ter of gravity, and means driven by the meter for moving the weight over its center of gravity, said wei ht being arranged to strike said catch in its descent.

5. In a pre ayment device, a coin chute, a catch normally retained by the action of gravity in a position to prevent the escape of coins therefrom and adapted when moved to release one coin at a time and to retu n automatically to its normal position, a weight pivoted at a point remote from its center of gravity, and means for moving the ight over its center of gravity, said weight being arranged to strike and move said catch in its descent.

6. In a prepayment device, a meter, a switch, a movable coin chute adapted to be shifted by the insertion of a coin, a switch controlling member operatively connected to said chute, and means controlled by the meter for controlling the escape of coins from the chute.

WILLIAM H. PRATT.

Witnesses:

JOHN A. McMANUs, Jr., HENRY O. WESTENDARP. 

